The Lost Seas

The Red Chord

The Red Chord is a slaving group operating in the Tyr region. Its symbol is a crimson saz. It was founded six years ago by Darok, a mul, and Eenga, a tarek.

Some years ago, almost three dozen members of the Red Chord were responsible for attacking the small oasis Brightspray and enslaving or killing everyone there. Among those enslaved was Bost; among those killed were his mother and father.

About a dozen Red Chord tareks and a couple of humans were encountered by the PCs in the foothills near Bellinga, leading a group of farmers they had enslaved from the neighboring village of Zun. They were killed or driven off. Later, in the Place of Forgetting, the PCs encountered Darok (the mul commander of the Red Chord), a half-giant named Nalla, a gith named J’Narr, and two tareks; all were killed by either the PCs or the denizens of the Place of Forgetting. Bost himself finished the mul off with a carrikal to the face, and helped himself to the mul’s fine hide armor…and a very interesting map.

A lone tarek Red Chordian was captured “standing watch” (snoring) outside the Place of Forgetting and, after being interrogated (revealing that Eenga and Darok co-founded the Red Chord six years ago and that they were bringing slaves to the Night Runners elf camp outside Altaruk), he tried to buy his freedom by promising to start a new slaving group and share his profits with the PCs. Bost responded by smashing his skull in with Darok’s quartz warhammer.

Four more Red Chord thugs were encountered drinking at the Mahindrazal as the sandstorm enveloped the lodge: Juvenal the elven thri-kreen slayer, Svensk the tarek, Brand the human dune trader, and Douglas the human ex-gladiator. After playing cards with Dazeel (and being fucked with during the night), they were psionically dominated into attacking the PCs and were slain for their troubles. Dazeel looted a chatkcha of speed and Birel looted a fine suit of bloodcut hide armor from their corpses.

As the Zatla Cowboys insinuated themselves into the column of slavers marching towards the Dragon’s Altar, they found an opportunity to assassinate Ko-Tok when she crept off to perform a guiding spirit ritual, ambushing her and looting her paper-wasp hozi, moth-wing ik-jidz, and scarab belt.

When the Red Chord was assigned to strike off into the surrounding hills to put a stop to the hail of javelins falling on the column, the Zatla Cowboys followed along (Bost bullying one of the tareks into staying behind, to be bullied in turn by the Murder Tribe and Cloud Rays). Ambushed by the Altar Skulkers, they fought alongside the Red Chord for a time before Vilsis abruptly put a flickering arrow into Eenga. The shocked Eenga finally recognized that Bost was wearing Darok’s armor before he clonked her on the head with his ram’s-head hammer, killing her. She was summarily stripped of her feedback sari, jet-teardrop amulet of health, and silt sandals.